


Through Neverwinter and to the Poissonnier

by marreena



Series: The McDonald Family [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, found family meets blood family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-09-26 19:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9919211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marreena/pseuds/marreena
Summary: Taako meeting his Mother goes as well as Angus thought it would.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi y'all i raise your "angus' fam is dead/hates/forgot him" to they love him and it's a bit complicated

Not being able to go back to his family does not really bother Angus.

Sure his parents did not enjoy the fact that he was supposedly going away to study—which, he was studying now due to Taako, so not a complete lie—but they had never made a move to stop him before when he worked on his detective cases. Not even when he went to visit his grandpa did they follow him or glance twice at him announcing that he was leaving. His mother would simply shift his baby sister to the other hip, offer any help, and then nod when he said he was fine.

Ever since his sister had been born it had been that way—not that he blamed Rivera in any way! She had a tendency to catch whatever illness was sent her way, so of course it makes sense for his parents to spend more time on her than on him. Especially when he was perfectly fine with taking care of himself. If he may say so himself, he was quite self reliant for an eleven year old. 

Angus knows that his parents still think about him, they send him letters every once and a while in response to his—which are always elaborate lies to hide the fact that he is at the Bureau and not at the University. Long, elaborate stories of cases he has never solved that only have a small cornel of truth. 

He mentions Magnus in his letters, along with Merle, Killian, Carey and even Avi and the Director. He omits Taako in fear that perhaps his parents will have heard of him, or even worse heard of Glamour Springs—he has also omitted the fact that he knows of this incident to Taako. His mother might have been fine with him going to a university on his own, but the moment a bit of a bad influence shows itself near him, she’ll somehow manage to fling herself to the moon in a frenzy. 

His parents do trust him, they just also care for him quite a lot.

It is not often that they have to step in for him, so when they have to they tend to over correct.

Of course, he fully expects this when his mother catches sight of him in Neverwinter for her to ironically rush in. However, none of his companions fully expect the middle-aged woman to come rushing at them from across the square, managing to walk easily over the recently iced path. Angus holds a hand to stop either Taako or Magnus from stepping in front of him, “It’s alright, sirs!” That is the only thing he can get out though as he slowly realizes that he might have to do quite a lot of lying, and he knows for a fact that is not Magnus or Taako’s strong suit. 

He sends one desperate glance at Carey, begging for her to step in if they start to do their worst—which is really not that hard—before being swept into his mother’s arms. She presses a kiss to his forehead and smoothes his head, notably taking in his lack of a hat, causing a crease to appear in between her eyes. 

The crease only increases as she subtly scans the people behind him and she straightens up in front of Angus. She adjusts his jacket and smoothes his scarf as she chides him, “Angus, you did not tell me you were going to be back in Neverwinter.”

“I didn’t know we were going to be here, Mom. We just needed some supplies for a project that we’re working on! I swear I would have sent a letter if I had known!” he wrings his hands in the hem of his jacket and sinks into his mother’s warmth as she puts an arm around him. 

There’s a not so subtle whisper around the group of  _mom, did he really say mom?_  and his mother narrowing her eyes at the _we_. “And who is _we,_ Angus?” she gestures to the group.

Before any of them can even think of speaking, he jumps in, “We all attend University together! This is Magnus and Carey whom I’ve told you about, and this is Taako, he’s a new transfer from New Elfington.” 

She hums and looks them over, her gaze surprisingly staying on Magnus and Carey, “Really?” she drawls. 

From over her shoulder, Angus can see his father with his sister on his hip leave a storefront, scanning the crowd for his mother and Angus panics. This really should not be happening. 

It takes little time for them to make it over and Angus squeezes his mother’s hand before letting go to reach up to his father for a kiss on the head. Rivera reaches for him and he waits for his father to nod before taking her. He turns only to see Magnus and Carey on the verge of tears and Taako on the verge of boredom. “Don’t we get an introduction, Agnes?” Taako mimics his mother’s drawl and points to the little circle that his family had taken.

He dares not take a look at his mother, knowing that she might take a bite right back at Taako. “This is my mother and father and this is my baby sister, Rivera,” he stammers out quick. 

His father chuckles as he takes in the tense group, “Ah, must have missed our turn.” 

“Don’t worry, honey, it wasn’t that important. Although, you won’t believe it but it appears the University is now taking non magic users,” and her perfectly done fingers point directly at Magnus and Carey. 

A chill ran down Angus’ spine at the thought of actually being caught in a lie by his mother and he desperately tries not to panic but he can’t stop himself from rolling back and forth on his heels. His father gently lays a hand on his head and ruffles his dark curls, “How nice of them to finally start letting non-magic folk in. I always believed that it should have been open to anyone who wants to learn.” 

His mother nods, but Angus knows that she does not believe her husband any the more than she trusts his friends. At that moment, Magnus sticks his hand out to his mother, “Magnus Burnsides, it’s nice to meet you,” using as much hospitality he can muster into just one hand. 

His mother looks down at his hand for a second before smiling warmly and taking it, “Amelia McDonald, nice to meet you as well. Angus speaks quite highly of you.” 

“ _Mom_!” he protests and Rivera bubbles out a giggle at that. 

She levels him with a stare, “Don’t gossip about someone if you don’t want it getting back to said person.” 

Magnus also greats his father, getting an even warmer response. “Costa McDonald, it’s great to meet someone who also enjoys magic despite not having the gift!”

Magnus only stiffens a little bit at that but nods in agreement, “Of course! As my father always said if you don’t understand magic in this world, you’ll get left behind.” 

Carey greets them next—she seems a bit more nervous than Magnus, but thankfully his parents are just strict and not bigots. 

Taako, however, does not follow the trend. “Taako, of course, I’m sure you’ve already heard of me,” he drawls and waves a hand in their general direction. 

Angus desperately sends a glance towards Magnus or Carey to _stop him_ , but they seem to be absolutely absorbed in watching him squirm. His mother smirks, “Actually, I haven’t ever heard of you.” 

Taako feigns shock, “Anglo, are you telling me that you haven’t told your parents that the University ordered their own New Elfington tutor just for you?” 

He rings his hands in his jacket and is quite surprised that his mother has not stopped him—the fact that she’s much more absorbed in Taako does not ease any of his anxiety. “No, I, uh—“ he stammers, losing his voice and glancing up at his mother and father. By some miracle, they are calm. 

His mother cocks her head, “He did not.” 

Taako’s grin is downright devious and does not match the words that com out of his mouth, “Are you afraid of telling them about the extra costs? You know, Ango, I told you we could wait till the end of the term.” 

  
_Oh_. An out. 

Angus turns ducks his head down, “I know. I just…” he trails off. 

And that’s all it takes for his parents to immediately divert all of their overt attention to him. “Angus,” his mother sighs, “you know money is not an issue for us. You should not feel bad about asking for money.”

“As your parents, please let us help take care of you somehow,” his father cuts in. He looks to Taako, “How much is your payment?” 

  
_Oh_.  

Taako shakes his head, “Oh no, like I told Agnus, I can wait till the end of the term for payment.” 

“I insist.”

“Well, if you insist, only five hundred for a single term. We’ll talk more if we extend the contract.” 

His mother narrows her eyes, “Five hundred seems quite cheap.” 

He nods and gently touches his chest, “You see, I would normally charge more but sweet Anglo has inspired me, and really, he’s been teaching me as well, so it only seems fair to cut the price. He’s quite a brilliant boy, you see.” 

“I am quite aware of my son,” she states, her irritation not hidden and seeping into each word. “He took after me,” and he did. His mother was the one who had the amazing detective skills—she just also had no interest in solving mysteries that were not pertinent for her.

It was from those detective skills—Angus’ twitching and hesitations, Taako’s own grin, Magnus carefully glancing in between everyone, and Carey looking around for what alleyway would be best to run into—that she most definitely had caught on that Taako was trying to con her.

His mother took this in stride. 

“Taako, correct?” she hums, shuffling through her pockets until she pulls out her coin purse and tosses it to him. “That should be about a hundred gold—I prefer not to carry more than that around at a time, I’m sure _you_  understand—and I can send the rest of it to you through Angus’ letters. Unless, if you wish to come over for dinner tonight?” 

It is most likely a trap from the sounds of it, to most likely figure out the extent of each of their characters over the courses of the meal. However, Angus desperately craves a good home cooked meal.

“No,” Taako says almost immediately. 

“Well, I would,” Magnus interjects, stepping forward. “I could really go for a, uh, not cafeteria meal.” 

Carey nods, shivering, “I’d actually really like to get to somewhere warm right now.” 

“We have a _project_ we need to complete. We don’t exactly have all day to dilly around Neverwinter,” Taako protests.

Angus looks up at Taako and does not shrink under his gaze, “Please, sir?”

His face twists and twists as he looks at Angus, "I'm not letting you drag us down." 

"Taako," Magnus scolds. "We'll come," he promises. 

Angus brightens at that. The thought of getting to introduce his friends, as nerve wracking as that is, to his family makes him ecstatic. Oh! He could show them all his room and all the old cases that he's solved. If only his mother wasn't so guarded he could even show them stuff that she has done. 

Rivera squirms in his arms and reaches up towards Magnus, whimpering out a small, "Hold you."

Magnus glances at his parents, waiting for permission before his father nods and his mother reluctantly giving the go ahead. Obviously by some unsaid power, he has managed to charm his mother into relaxation that only so many people outside of their family can achieve. He grins and takes Rivera into his arms—or rather hands. She was so small in his arms, which was so unlike all of those in his family. 

He gently tucks her scarf tighter and then bounces her on his hip causing her to laugh and curl her little hands into the fur of his jacket. Rivera looks back at their mother and mumbles out a small, "Mama, Mama!" from behind her scarf. 

He knows he's too old for it, but in that moment, Angus desperately wants to be held. 

Magnus grins at Taako, "Come on, you know you can't say no to us!" 

Taako scoffs but he does flush a bit, "I can and I will, Maggy." 

Magnus lets out a bark which startled Rivera quite a bit so he has to coo to calm her down. He just hums and turns back to his parents, "Would you like to show us the way?" 

His mother smiles, a knowing twinkle in her eyes, "Of course. We just need to stop by the poissonnier on the way back."

They walk a familiar path through Neverwinter, Angus feeling slightly uncomfortable with the turn of events but also warm with his father's arm thrown around his shoulder. As it turns out, Taako is also unsurprisingly mostly talk and does end up trailing behind them, giving Magnus the nastiest stink eye.

At the poissonnier, his mother pulls him aside as his father and Carey strike up a conversation about sailing that he didn't figure either of them could uphold and Magnus continues to tease Taako by holding Rivera high enough for her to grab his hat and try to pull it off. As with most times that his mother pulls him to the side, he panics just a bit because most times it is her telling him not to talk to a certain guest because they just did something horrible. 

Her hand is gentle on his shoulder, however. Soft and comforting, "Angus, baby, you would tell me if you were in trouble wouldn't you?" 

"Of course, Mom!" he says just a bit too fast and her stare hardens. 

He bites his lip as she continues. "I know you're not at the University, and let me finish, Angus. I don't know what you're doing, if it's a case or _whatever_ and frankly that scares me. I trust you, baby, I really do. Just please tell me that if things go for the worse, you would tell me."

"I will, Mom," he promises and desperately hopes that he can keep it. 

She smiles at him and smoothes out his coat, "I wish I could believe you, baby." Her eyes drift over to Magnus, Carey, and Taako, "They seem kind." Her smile twists a bit, bitterly. "They are lucky to be able to spend so much time with you."

"Mom," he protests and she just laughs. 

"Just know that it will not take me long to figure out why all of you have the same cuffs," she tapped his wrist gently, right where his bracer was hidden. “Or why for the first time in your life, you refuse to tell me what is going on."

Angus gasps like he had been shocked, jolting back. "Mom, I..." he trails off because, what can he say? The Voidfish will most likely block anything he could say to her about the Bureau. "I would tell you if I could."

His mother nods, "I figured, baby." She sighs and leans away, "Now since he's distracted, tell me why that Taako is trying to swindle me? Also what is his favorite type of fish? I think we need to unsettle him just a bit." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Director meeting his Mother goes better than Angus thought it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @petalSplitter this is all for you 
> 
> jk this is also for my self indulgent ass and also @ Griffin for makin it just a bit too easy to find the moon base

Angus isn’t sure why Taako starts upholding more of his promises to teach him, but he’s too terrified that if he were to question them, they will stop.

Of course, the lessons aren’t perfect per se… Taako tends to drift after enough time is spent on one spell—Angus desperately tries to learn the spells faster to keep up with him, but he would also rather take his time than learn a spell wrong. He knows the dangers of misfiring a spell.

The constant internal battle leaves Angus sweating, glancing in between his own work and Taako suddenly flipping through a notebook. The moment he drifts over to his closet though is when the lesson will be over. Instead, Angus will end up listening to Taako’s complaints on the Moon Base’s inability to stock fine clothes—“I’m not even asking for _good clothes,_ Agnes, just wearable ones! Costco’s fine for like _basics_ and for someone like Magnus who dresses like a Dad in only cargo shorts! I went through his closet, Angus. All too short, cargo shorts!”—until Taako finally slams the door of his closet shut and vows to open up something better than their Fantasy New Navy. 

Angus will always offer a small fact that most of the time Taako just orders his clothes anyway and it’s pointless to open up a store that he won’t even go to after he sees someone like Avi wearing the same shirt as him. 

Taako’s dead look is the answer he needs for that he should go, _like now_. 

Detect magic is a spell he’s partially learned on his own—his own mother insists that it’s one of the best spells and is something that she uses constantly when dealing with people. She tells him that most people have numerous ways of tricking someone but with just a bit of magic that ability multiplies ten fold. One needs to always be aware of how magic is affecting the situation that one is in.

Angus is not sure perhaps _why_  his mother is so cautious when it comes to those using magic against her, but he is not sure that she is ready to share that with him yet. 

He is practically ecstatic when Taako mentions that they will work on detect magic as that is one of the few spells that _he knows_. He’s seen his mother do the hand motions around his home enough that he can already do them—he resists, though, from doing them right off the back in front of Taako, and curls his hands around his wand. Angus does not want to seem too… knowledgable about the subject as then maybe Taako will slack just a bit. He wants to learn all that Taako can teach him.

He will sacrifice being able to show off this once just for the ability to learn more. 

For this single lesson, Taako does seem a bit more engaged— _thank fuck not another cantrip and something with a bit of real world substance_ —than usual, and explains the practicalities of the spell— _I nearly got fucked over by Magnus once on a bet because he’s got a trick set of playing cards! Can you believe that?_ —the hand gestures— _Anges, you grip the wand like my auntie trying to strangle my cousin_ —and what to say— _I don’t know if it sounds right when_ you _say it…but I guess it’ll do_. 

And for the first time during his apprenticeship under Taako, he manages to cast the spell efficiently for the first time.

The room lights up in front of his eyes. He thinks there has to be something wrong, everything is so bright and there’s so much. Taako is the first thing he sees, a brilliant glow emanating from him that blends with his other enchanted clothing that he’s wearing. There’s objects around the room that light up—a couple extra and specialized wands, some jewelry that he’s been attempting to carve runes into, a terrifying strong glow that comes from underneath his bed. 

What catches his eyes, though, is the spilled bag of gold on his dresser that has too many drawers that are already broken even though Taako had just been assigned that room a couple months ago. Angus stammers a bit at seeing that—he knows for a fact that at least in Neverwinter it is illegal for any type of enchantment on gold. 

He wishes he could stop the spell, he does not want to know or acknowledge what Taako could be doing with enchanted gold. He doesn’t want to have to tell anyone about this. He doesn’t want to be a _snitch_. 

Even though he immediately turns away from the gold, Taako still notices. “Something off, bubba?” 

“Nothing, sir!” he yips out and wrings out his hands on his wand. He really cannot hold out on this anymore. He should just leave and excuse himself—Taako will always willingly take an opportunity to end their lessons early. 

Taako cocks his head and points to his wand, “Got a little back whip there? Spell misfire? Gimme a little something to work with.” He reaches for Angus, but he jumps back, desperately clutching at his wand. 

“It’s illegal to enchant gold, sir!” he gets it out in one rushed breath and looks at the door wishing that he knew blink so that he may disappear from Taako’s disappointed gaze. There’s no way that Taako will ever want to teach him again after this breech of trust between the two.

He doesn’t want to be forced to tell the Director—maybe they can work something out between the two. 

“Enchanted gold? I have _enchanted gold_? That goes for a fortune! But, Anglo, I love that you think I’m smart enough to make enchanted gold but I can barely enchant my own clothing much less gold that has several protection runes built into it,” he reasons, surprisingly calmly. 

Angus blinks back the tears in his eyes and wipes them away when they fall anyway. He tries to think of something to say but he just breathes in instead. He needs to reason through this and not get overwhelmed despite the still molten, twisted feeling in his stomach.  

Taako carefully gets up from the bed and puts his hands on Angus’ shoulders, “Hey, Angus, you okay? I swear whatever gold in here that’s bad, ain’t me. Probably from Fantasy Coscto or some jip fantasy website,” he explains. “What gold’s bad?”

 Angus takes another deep breath and points to the stack on the dresser and Taako freezes. He swears under his breath and then casts his own version of detect magic only to swear again. “Your mother fucking set me up!” he grabs a handful of the coins and throws them at Angus. He only manages to catch a couple and he turns it over in his hand—nothing looks out of place to his trained eye. The stamp of Neverwinter mint is smooth under his fingers as he traces it.

“What do you mean?” he stammers. “I doubt she’d do anything malicious on purpose.” 

His mind reels at what his mother could have possibly done and a chill runs down his spine just as he realizes it and Taako says it, “She put a fucking tracking spell on it!”

“It’s common in Neverwinter if one suspects a thief to get tracking gold from the militia,” he mumbles out feeling so cold and absolutely terrified. His mother knows they are on the _moon_. 

His mother knows. 

“We have to tell the Director.”

“Nu uh, no way, we can’t do that.”

“Sir, we have a responsibility to the Bureau to tell them about any threats—“ 

“Agnes, think about what you just said; do you really want the Bureau to consider your mom a threat?”

He fidgets just a bit and twists his wand, glancing back at the cursed pile of gold. He should have known his mother would try something like this to find out about the Bureau—he just figured that they might have had at least a couple of weeks before she would do anything. “Not really, sir. I just don’t know if we’re going to be able to stop my mother on our own.” 

“Don’t worry about that yet. We gotta handle this on the down low.” 

Angus then narrows his eyes, “Excuse me, Taako, did you spend any of that money?” 

He shrugs and pushes the money around, “I don’t know—I think I spent some at fantasy costco for some value cream.” 

“And do you know if that money is used in circulation or is put in a treasury?” 

“Agnes, if I understood the economy, I wouldn’t be _here_.” 

“Ah! You’re right, sorry. I am just meaning to say, there’s a good chance that if Fantasy Costco collected your money they probably used your money in buying supplies from, well, uh, down there,” he awkwardly pointed to the still-covered window on the ground.

He waits for Taako to respond, to maybe even put it all together, but Taako just stares at him. He then shuffles his hand, “Continue, we don’t have all day, do we.” 

“It means that my mother most likely thought that it was _you_  coming down there and confronted whoever instead.” 

All Taako can do is gulp as he stares at him, fully digesting his words. “We fucked,” he chokes out, “We fucked, Ango.” 

“It’s not like the Director can have us…killed or anything, right?” Angus mumbles out and tries to ignore the sting in the back of his nose. 

Something in Taako snaps. 

He hops up, digging out a small bag from his closet, grabs a few items around the room—a spare wand, his stone of far speech, the cursed gold, a salt shaker, and a couple of other things that Angus didn’t think really seemed important—before grabbing Angus by the arm and dragging him out of the room. He yelps just a bit but Taako doesn’t loosen his hold on him. “We have to go for a bit Angus, ‘kay? We figure out your mom, we feed _whatever_  to the Void fish, and then it’s good. We gonna go dark for a bit but it’s gonna be okay, Angus.”

Angus realizes that Taako is panicking. He’s panicking to the point where even Angus is starting to feel the curdle in his chest, and it feels quite wrong that he has to be the voice of reason in this situation. “W-what about Magnus?” 

The question feels silly once it’s out of his mouth, but it does have the wanted affect of stopping Taako from dragging him out the living spaces. He turns and looks at him, “ _Magnus_?” 

“Yeah, uh, shouldn’t he know where we’re going, sir?” 

“Since when has Magnus been our keeper?” 

“I guess he isn’t but I, uh, just feel like we should tell someone.”

“We’re not telling _Magnus_!” he shrieks. “That—that _boy_ , he’ll pick me up and won’t let me go! He does it every single time! Nu uh, bubba we’re a going. Taako’s out.” 

By some unfortunate and maybe even fortunate circumstances, they are not _out_  as Taako would put it. When they reach the vehicle bay, Avi just shakes his head even when Taako insists. “No can do, boys. The Director wants the bay shut down for the time being. We, uh, had an issue earlier.” 

Angus has a sinking suspicion that he knows what that issue was.

Taako starts tapping his foot and Angus’ stomach jumps into his throat—he only does that when he gets really frustrated with Magnus or Merle. He tugs on Taako’s cloak despite his best knowledge that he should definitely _not do that_. It’s better for Taako to take out his frustration on him than on someone like Avi who is not involved in the whole ordeal at all.

Despite his attempt, Taako’s glare does not waver from Avi, “My dude, I’m just asking for a small favor. Gotta take lil Anglo for a field trip today.” 

Taako is five seconds away from casting blink or something worse on Avi when Angus’ stone of far speech sputters to life, making them both freeze. 

“Angus, can you please come to my office?” is the voice of the Director. 

Before Taako can do something such as shatter the stone, Angus fumbles out an answer, “Ah! Yes, of course, ma’am!”

There’s a hazy sensation in his chest as he attempts to come to grips with the situation—he was about to _run away with Taako._  Something that is incredibly irresponsible for the situation at hand, but he was going to do it with such little protest. That’s not like him, at least he _thinks_  that isn’t like him. 

Angus chokes up a bit but he swallows it down. “Sir, we have to go, _please_ ,” he begs in a way that makes most fold to him. Something that his father taught him and chided him for. 

Taako hesitates and shifts his glare to Angus, a cold and chilly trap that leaves Angus breathless at the thought of making Taako that angry at him. All it takes is for his eyes to well up again for Taako to sigh and push Angus towards the door, “What-fucking-ever, _fine_. But Avi you’re not in the clear yet.” 

Avi lets out a strangled noise, “Do you guys, uh, need me to call Magnus or something?”

Taako snaps for the second time that night. 

One second, Avi is there, the next, it’s just a sheep. 

Before Angus can even figure out what happened, Taako is guiding him out the room and to the main hallway to the Director’s office. “Now that, Agnes, was a level three transmutation spell. That shit ain’t gonna wear off for a good couple hours. He deserves it. Now, please explain why everyone on this goddamn moon wants to tattle on me to Magnus?” 

“Well, sir, to be honest, most people find it hard to converse with you and Merle. Probably for the reason of what you did to Avi back there and how you tend to ignore most people when they speak to you,” Angus admits, terrified slightly at how Taako might respond, which also speaks to why people prefer to go through Magnus. 

Taako trails a bit behind him, as if he is considering the whole thing, and just shrugs, trailing just behind him. Typical and expected, considering that Taako would much rather leave things about himself up in the air rather than address them. Angus understands but rather prefers to tell people how he’s feeling.

By the time they reach the Director’s office, Angus is unfortunately sweating. Like most people ever, he does not like getting in trouble, especially for something as big as this—Angus doesn’t want to lose his _job_. He’s not sure if the three boys will fair to well without him—he tells himself this, even though in reality they seem to function quite well without contacting him. The last time that they had called him up for information had resulted in nearly getting them killed, but he is certain that he can help! He is so close to figuring out what is going on with the Bureau and the Red Robes. Even the mystery of Taako’s umbra staff—Lup?—won’t remain hidden from him for long. 

He can help. Angus needs to help them. 

He clenches his teeth and glances up at Taako—the elf seems unconcerned like usual, a bit irritated like usual. “You know, you don’t have to come in with me. I can do this on my own.” 

He only rolls his eyes and pushes him through the door, “No can do.”

Angus is thankful for Taako’s hand on his back because otherwise he might have fainted. 

Seeing his _mother_  sitting there with the Director, sharing a glass of wine, has the effect of Magnus accidentally slapping him on the back with thirty-five percent strength. He adjusts the collar of his shirt and swallows because his tongue feels like it is taking up his entire throat and choking him. There has to be something for him to say, but he cannot think of anything. 

Thankfully Taako has enough words for the both of them. “I expect you’re here to give me my _not fucking cursed gold_ for sweet lil Ango’s lessons—which you interrupted. Also, you know, uh, Angela, direct deposit exists for a reason.” 

His mom just smiles, “Oh, then just send me your account information.”

Taako’s scowl deepen and he throws himself in one of the chairs in the office, “Just ask your _son_ , I’m sure he already has it. Hey, Anglo what’s my current balance?” 

“About fourteen gold,” he answers automatically and keeps his gaze down. 

“Angus, you’re not in trouble. You can come here,” his mother says and he glances up at her but his gaze stays on the Director. 

“She’s right, if anything this has helped the Bureau,” the Director adds and Angus lets out a breath he didn’t know had welled up in his chest. 

He nods and walks forward to stand next to his mother and she puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. Normally, he might sit on his mother’s lap, but that would most likely be seen as unprofessional given the circumstance. “Has it really?” he asks. 

The Director leans forward and nods, “You both have proved that the Bureau has a lot of weak spots, unfortunately.” 

His mother laughs softly, “When your entire base of operations is something people see regularly in the night sky, it’s harder to hide than one would think—especially when that base suddenly changes direction.”

Angus notes that, that was even before him and Taako had goofed with the gold. 

“Also,” his mother points non-committedly towards the Director, “you put a gag order on my son.”

Taako snorts, “Of course that’s a fault on the _Bureau_.” 

“Well, since all of you were unable to come up with a coherent lie together that doesn’t wildly conflict with each new detail you added to the story over _one_ single dinner, then yes, I would say that is the Organization’s fault of not preparing its employees. Not to mention the cult like bracers. Or the fact that this base does not have an anti-magic barrier to prevent what I did. I could go on, but I have already informed the Director of the security issues that I think could be improved.” 

It takes Angus a second, but it dawns on him, “Are you working for the Bureau?” 

Taako chokes on his own life and sits up in his chair, “ _No._ ” 

HIs mother just smiles and pats Taako’s leg that’s thrown over the side, “Not yet, no. I am waiting for an offer, though.” Her eyes cut to the Director with a knowing look. 

“It’s in negotiation.”

“I’m not asking for much. Just knowledge of what my son is doing and I will freely collect as much information as you need from Neverwinter. I could even give you my elevator speech but I doubt it will say anything more than the fact that I was able to find you,” she drawls. 

Angus has seen his mother work before. He’s seen her keen eye in action at parties and her quick tongue working even the toughest of Neverwinter’s nobles, but this is something else. She is not going to let this up. 

Lucretia leans forward, “I’m sorry but that sounds a bit like a threat.” 

“It isn’t, I promise.” It is, though. Angus knows that his mother would not come into maybe dangerous territory to find him without having a fall back plan. 

If he had to guess, she has already spreads rumors of the Moon Base, and if she does not come back then their whole operation could be in jeopardy. 

“Ma’am,” he interjects, “my mother is the woman I learned all of my skills from—besides the few things my grandfather and father did, oh! and Caleb Cleveland, of course—and she can easily contribute a lot to our cause. I think it would be best for us if she worked along side us. Also, ma’am, didn’t we lose an agent in Neverwinter recently? My mother knows everything about Neverwinter! Including the underbelly that most people don’t take into account.

“Also, I would like to be able to talk to my mother,” he finishes and feels he did quite well. He did ramble just a bit, but he got his point across and he hopes that the Director understands that his mother is quite the asset, and it is quite possible that if she does not become an asset that she might become liability instead. 

“Detectives usually do have a sidekick, don’t they Angus?” his mother asks, her tone lifting with just a slight teasing tone. 

Angus beams anyway, “They do! I would work much better, ma’am.” 

“I was not really planning on saying no—I know a capable woman when I see one and we definitely need more of those around here, all things considering,” the Director’s gaze drifts to Taako who’s slumped out in his chair, his feet dangling over the side and fiddling with the rings on his hand. His ears flick back a bit in irritation at that but he doesn’t respond. 

His mother smiles and gently runs her hand through his hair, soothing him to lean against her, “Of course. Now tell me the details.”

It takes a while for them to run through all that they can without his mother being inoculated, but his mother refuses to drink _anything_  from something called a V _oid Fish_  before she fully trusts them. 

It’s terrifying to watch his mother drink the Void Fish’s liquid. She stands there for just a second before she collapses and Angus has to hug her and hold her as she cries because _I had a sister, baby, and she’s gone_. She tells him of all the people that were in her life that she remembers again and cries.

He tries to comfort her but he wishes that his father were here instead.

His mother collects herself, not ashamed of crying in front of them but obviously unsettled—by what she saw? Or the fact that something like the Void Fish who can erase memories exists? She keeps a hand on Angus’ shoulder, gently brushing the back of his neck with her thumb. “Oh baby what did you get yourself into?” she mumbles at one point to him, bending down to whisper it. 

Quite frankly, he doesn’t know how to respond.

Surprisingly during all of this, Taako stayed with them, keeping a close eye on Angus. He may have hovered a bit slightly behind, but he watched them intently. At that point, his mother finally addresses him. “Taako, if you will, I’d like for you to continue your lesson. I’d like how to see you’re teaching my son.” 

Taako bristles a bit, “Need a payment first—your last one bounced.”

His mother grins, “Of course,” and hands him a new coin purse. 

Taako looks at him expectantly. “Come on, Agnes, we don’t have all day.” 

Angus then nods, realizing what he wanted, and casts detect magic. His mother and Taako light up and so do most of the area around them, however, the coins stay the same as always. 

He lets out a shaky breath and shakes his head, “It’s clean, sir.”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun stuff that didn't make it in:  
> the entire dinner scene where everyone loves Magnus and Taako gets jealous  
> Taako being forced to hold a baby and McFreaking losing it  
> Merle/The Director/Mama McDonald becoming a weird friend group that everyone is uncomfortable about  
> No babies on the moon
> 
> Stuff that unfortunately made it in:  
> My thoughts on the fantasy economy and the minting process


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus hopes dinner goes better than he knows it will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one day y'all gotta stop me 
> 
> also i learned my lesson of don't admit that you omitted the best parts of a fic in the authors note so here's the dinner scene 
> 
> also also please treat angus right

In all honesty, Angus did not expect to run into his family nor spend the evening back at his home in Neverwinter, when really all they came down to do was find some suitable sweets for Carey. An adventure that Magnus had been invited to, Taako had insisted that it was necessary he came, and Angus had been dragged along because Taako had left during their usual Magic Time—of course only coming after Carey reassured him that it was fine if they came. 

Of course, he was not upset by the fact that his family found him! To be quite honest, he was very happy about the whole ordeal in a sort of giddy sense, and he would be enjoying it more if not for the fact that his stomach was literally turning itself into molten lead. The thought of lying to his parents any more stressed him quite a bit—also the thought of the four of them having to try and coordinate on their lies not only stresses him but _terrifies_ him.

Taako and Magnus could barely fight together and they’ve been doing it for nearly a year now. This was just too much to ask for from both of them.

It was definitely a lost cause for his mother, but he had hopes that he could at least keep her out of the Bureau’s business until they’re done. His mother will most likely have no interest in working for the Bureau and Angus isn’t quite too sure what happens to people _who know_  and don’t cooperate. 

He would rather ask first than experience it first hand.

“Didn’t know you were loaded, little man,” Taako whistles as they walk up to their home. Angus doesn’t think their home is that big compared to many of the other estates in Neverwinter—it also was not tiny by any means. They were upperclass and his mother and father did have a status to uphold. It was only a townhouse—if Taako really wanted to see something extravagant he should see his Aunt Kaz’s estate just outside of Neverwinter.

“Never said I wasn’t, sir,” Angus quips back, ducking out from his father’s arm and falls back in line with both Magnus and Taako. Carey was tucked under Magnus’ arm after being unable to continue her conversation with his father about the increased use of magic in transportation because her teeth were chattering so hard—Rivera having been returned to his mother’s hold after falling asleep in Magnus’ arms. Neverwinter in the midst of the coldest season really was not meant for someone like Carey.

His mother had offered up that there was a coat maker in Neverwinter who embroidered heating runes into her jackets—Carey had laughed and tucked in tighter against Magnus offering a small, _Already got a nice heater at home_. 

Taako narrowed in on him, “Just seems like a weird thing to omit.” 

He shrugs, “Well, sir, you shouldn’t offer any information to be used against you. Also, you never really asked. You don’t really ask much about anybody really.” He admits, digging his hands into his pockets and Carey offers a small consoling nod because they have talked about this before.

Taako looks down at him and raises a brow, as if _are we really gonna get into this now, in front of your parents_. “Didn’t know you wanted me to, bubba.” 

He shrugs again, “It’d be nice every once and a while to at least ask someone how they’re doing.” 

“Well, then, are you fucking loaded, Ango?” he sneers. 

His father coughs at that, signaling for them to finally come inside. Magnus ducks his head and elbows Taako, nearly knocking him into the doorframe, “Sorry,” he apologizes for him. “Think of the children,” he ribs Taako. 

His father laughs and pats Magnus on the back when they enter, “Oh, it’s for me! The children don’t mind it.” 

At that moment Taako freezes while taking off his cape and just glances between him and his father before narrowing his eyes. Irritatingly enough, he does not say anything and just hangs up his cape on the coat rack. Angus desperately glances at Magnus hoping for more insight on what Taako had just been about to say only for Magnus to seem to be just as lost. 

Angus fidgets just a bit, and prays to whatever gods that will listen that Taako does not do anything too damaging.

(Worst case scenario: his mother and father take him out of “University.” 

Best case scenario: absolutely anything but that.) 

Their Housekeep, Kit, nearly weeps when they see him. They send an accusing glance towards both his parents, “You should have told me he was coming home! I would have made something special for dinner.” Kit pesters his parents for another minute before ruffling his hair on their way back to the kitchen. 

By the time he turns around, Taako, Magnus and Carey are on the other side of the room going through the bookshelves and their things. He lets out a small noise from the back of his throat and quickly rushes over to them before they knock over something too breakable. “Hey, Ango, you got any baby pics?” Magnus asks, looking through the photos on the shelf. 

There are definitely quite a bit, it doesn’t take long for them to spot one form Angus’ first day of primary school. Magnus coos at the picture and Carey cocks her head at it, “Is that really what small humans look like?” 

Angus shifts his weight to his other foot and crosses his arms, “Ma’am… you’ve seen my baby sister,” he points out. 

Carey turns with a wolfish grin and bops his nose, “It’s different in real life.”

He whimpers out a small _please_  because he remembers last time they went after his nose and he did not like it one bit. Angus stands with them and talks about some of the pictures they pick out on the wall—the wedding one of his parents, a recent family portrait from a year ago, younger ones from both his parent's families. He is especially excited to show them a picture of his grandfather, holding his beloved silverware— _of fucking course_ , Taako had hissed—grinning in a way that reminded Angus of his father. 

He freezes though, on one of his mother from when she was a teenager finishing Neverwinter prep school. That was right before she went to University to study Abjuration and Enchantment. The photo is different, though from what he remembers. Standing beside his mother is a girl who looks just like her, perhaps a year younger. 

There is a tingle of recognition at the back of his head, something tells him he _knows_ her the same way that he feels when he meets up with family that he hasn’t seen in a long time. Recognition that breeches past his own awareness. 

A sort of nausea hits him when he realizes that it is someone that he was forced to forget.

He grips tightly at Taako’s shirt to steady himself because he _really_  cannot think about this or bring it up as it will only make his mother so much more suspicious. Taako looks down at him and cocks his head, “Feeling a bit faint, lil man? Let’s get some nutrition in you.” 

Taako walks through his home as if he knows where everything is and by some unseeingly miracle, he sort of does. They manage to make it to the kitchen without entering every room in the estate. He worries just a bit, leaving Magnus and Carey alone, in the living room, but he figures the most damage they can do is probably comparable to the least damage that Taako can do. 

His favorite chocolate chip scones must have been made for breakfast this morning as there is a huge basket on the counter of them. Taako seems to have the same game plan as he does and quickly grabs one for him and throws it to him. 

Kit immediately narrows in on them from across the kitchen where they’re filleting the fish. “Angus,” they scolds and that tone is enough for him to start to go put the scone back, but Taako snatches it out of his hand. 

He holds it for a second as if reconsidering his action and then _licks_  it. He puts it back in Angus’ open hand, “You gotta each it now.” 

“Sir, _you_ licked it.” 

“Exactly, eat it. You were about to faint back there and I’m not being left alone with Dumbest Fuck and only slightly more Competent in your home, defenseless from your harpy parents,” Taako notes and then weirdly enough, licks his own scone even though it’s completely unnecessary as Kit has already given up on them and gone back to prepping the fish. 

Angus also notes that Taako is threatened by both of his parents. 

Usually it takes people a while to figure out his father is also as sharp as his mother just not as outward. 

He nods and carefully takes a bite out of it as to not spill any crumbs anywhere, while Taako rips the scone apart, not caring about losing nearly half of it to the floor as it crumbles. Angus resists the urge to stick his hand out and catch them. He will have to apologize to Kit later. 

He doesn't strike down his next urge, however, and casts a small produce flame to warm the scone in his hand. "Sir, look!" he holds up the scone to him as it slowly starts to warm up, the chocolate chips turning glossy. 

Taako freezes for a second before bending just a bit to take it in, "Not bad, Agnus, but tone back a bit—you're charring me too." 

He nods and stops the spell. Sure enough, it was a bit too strong and the scone is a bit crispy now but it tastes just as good as out of the oven. He offers a bit to Taako but he shakes his head and moves out of the kitchen. 

His parents are both back after changing out of their outerwear attire and into something much more comfortable. His father is just getting the tea going while his mother stokes the fire to get it back to roaring and warming up the room. 

Magnus is thankfully just talking to his father, making casual conversation on their favorite tea while Carey is on the ground with Rivera who must have refused to lay down for a nap. They roll Steven back and forth in between the two of them, and Angus makes a small noise because that can't be okay for the fish. 

Magnus catches him stepping over to them, "He's been through worse," he assures him. 

Which is definitely true. If coming down from the Moon Base hasn’t killed him yet, Angus wonders if Steven can really die and how much the magic really protects him. 

Rivera catches sight of him and instantly brightens up. “Annie!” she shouts—an immediately murmur spreads through his three companions echoing _Annie!_ —and grabs Steven, holding him tightly to her chest as she walks over to him. He grins at that, last time he was home, she was still tripping quite a bit, but now she easily ran over to him! Angus often worries about how sick she gets sometimes… It’s his baby sister, and he can’t really do much to help her, and sometimes she gets  _so sick_. Angus usually has to blink back tears when he sees her so lively. 

 Rivera stopped in front of him, getting distracted by Steven swirling around in his ball. 

“What do you have?” he asks, leaning down to her.

“Steven,” she answers and holds it out to show him. 

“Where’d you get him?”

She tucks him gently under her chin and then points at Magnus who is eagerly watching their interaction. 

“Is it his fish?” 

“Our fish,” she corrects and turns away so he can’t take Steven away from her, which he would never do. That earns an honest laugh from both of his parents and Magnus and Carey. Taako, however, just continues to stare at her. She seems to notice his gaze and turns back to look at him. Rivera cocks her head and then backs up into Angus, looking for a bit of comfort and protection.

He gives Taako a sheepish smile, "She doesn't really like strangers."

Taako crosses his arms and then throws a thumb over his shoulder at Magnus, "Didn't seem to mind that _big_ , threatening stranger too much." 

At that his mother steps in, "She will love anyone willing to hold her. If you really want her to trust you, hold her."

Taako looks down at her out of the corner of his eye as if he were truly considering it, and then rolls his eyes, "I don't need a baby to trust me." 

"Of course you don’t,” his mother hums and goes to sit next to his father on the love seat, taking the cup of tea that he had poured for her, adding in just the right amount of honey. Her gaze is still amused when she turns her attention to Angus, “Weren’t you going to show them your room, Angus?”  

Angus nods at that, of course! He had forgotten all about showing off his room and all the cases he had solved. He excuses himself from his parents, but his father coughs and makes a pointed stare towards Rivera. 

She’s still completely absorbed in Steven and looks like she’s currently trying to figure out how to fit it into her mouth.  He gently touches her shoulder to get her attention and she looks up at him, “Can you show me my room?” 

Rivera nods, carefully tucking the fish closer to her and holds out one hand for him to take. She can only hold onto two of his fingers, but she still happily takes them and leads them to the private rooms in their townhouse. She nearly tries to take them on a detour to her room—he quickly corrects her, though, and she nods going to the room next to it. 

Angus’ room looks as though it has not been touched since he left. 

Of course, there is not a fine layer of dust or anything—Kit would never allow for that in the home—it’s just that there’s still a bit of clutter around the room from when he had been trying to figure out the Bureau. A bit of pride swells in him at the fact that he did manage to solve that one. 

A crack cuts through the room as Rivera drops Steven and everyone focuses in on the ball. Angus is quite terrified to look at the fish, knowing that it was the closest thing to a dog that the Director would let Magnus have, because if he were to have led to his death… 

Rivera simply picks up Steven again, surprisingly unscathed, and presses a kiss to the top of it, “Sorry, Steven.” She sets him on Angus’ bed and then goes to start messing with his stuff, which Angus is desperately trying not to let bother him. It is fine if she plays with his stuff—of course, only if she also puts it back. He knows this. It just still gets deep under his skin.

It’s a sibling thing.

“Anyway,” Angus breathes out and goes to his desk and his filing drawer that has all of his old cases in it.

“Of course, you have a fucking filing cabinet,” Taako hums and throws himself down on his bed next to Steven.

“With my profession, it’s necessary to stay organized, sir.” He quickly goes through the cabinet, pulling out two files. There isn’t quite a prance to his step but there’s definitely a skip to it as he goes over to Taako. Both of the files are from last year, he had worked on them with his grandpa to solve them. “Sometimes, I need to reference old cases because they’re connected! These were both just months apart, but this murder was in New Elfington—where you’re from!—while the older one was in Westlin. Normally, I wouldn’t have put them together, but Grandpa thought they were the same because both of the family’s had members that were beginners in Illusion that—“ and just like that he went off on the two cases.

It had been quite satisfying to put them both together as he would have never thought that they were related. He misses his grandfather quite a lot, all things considering, he was one of the best partners that one could have. Carey drapes herself over him as he explains, but he doesn’t freeze up for one second because he’s on a roll and for once, Taako seems to be listening!

“Pretty impressive, bubba,” Taako murmurs at the end, casually shifting through his different papers and evidence.

“It is! One of the families even gave me this,” he shows them the family crest that glows a bit dimly with the magical rune that marks the family. 

At that, Taako does sit up a bit more, “ _No way_ , you must’ve really got ‘em, if you managed to get one of those from someone in New Elfington. That means you’re family.” 

He nods, excited, “It does! They were really thankful to find their son and clear their friend’s name.” 

“Should hit ‘em up, see if they know a little Taako,” he mumbles checking out his nails and picking at the cracked polish there.

Angus nods, maybe he would send them a letter. It’s always nice to make connections around the world. 

Rivera had wandered over during his explanation—she really liked it when he talked and told stories, always eager to listen to his long winded explanations—laying her head down on the bed as she stood on her toes watching him. As he settled down though, she grew a bit restless and moved over to Taako, her small hands daring to touch his leg. 

Taako watched her intently, as she stealthily inched closer and closer. His eyes said _don’t_  but his stiff body language also said _really don’t_. 

However, being only barely three years old, she does not really pick up on body language. She reaches out to him, small hands grabbing at him, begging to be held. 

Taako doesn’t budge and it becomes a test of the wills. 

“She just wants to be held,” Carey prods. “She really does love it.” 

Magnus nods and then drapes over Carey, pressing down on Angus causing for him to really struggle to keep on standing in this position. “Just put her in your lap,” he insists. 

Taako shakes his head, “Things don’t belong in my lap— _I_ belong in people’s laps.” 

“Hold you,” she insists. 

Carey grins, “ _See._  She’ll hold you, Taako!"

Taako doesn't look happy, but he gives in under the pressure. However, he makes her do all the work of crawling up on the bed and onto his lap. Little hands carefully tangle themselves into the strings on the front of his shirt, being careful not to tug too much as if she knows that will literally be the last straw. Rivera seems quite content and lays her cheek against his chest. 

That's really all it takes for a group awe to resonate through the room, causing for Taako to scowl even more. "This was all fucking peer pressure, you leeches," he hisses but puts his arms around her anyway.

Angus nods because, yes, it definitely was, but it's very nice to see Taako getting along with his family. 

Maybe, if things calmed down and got less dangerous for everyone, then they could visit them more. 

That sounds quite... nice, actually. 

“Well, can we eat already or what?" Carey yips, untangling herself from both Magnus and Angus. 

“It's probably ready," Angus nods. He then looks to Taako and Rivera, who looks like she's about to doze off on him. "Will you be able to carry her, sir? I doubt she's willing to let go now since you finally held her." 

Taako looks exhausted, " _Why_?" he deadpans. 

"Oh, come on Taak! It's just back to the dinning room," Carey ribs, her tail excitingly swishing behind her. 

"Yeah, just hitch her on your hip and lets go," Magnus grins and nudges Angus to start walking towards the door. 

Taako just rolls his eyes, "Fine."

Rivera makes a small yip when they stand up and Taako shifts her to his hip. She wakes up a bit but her gaze zeroes in on an object not the bed. Carey quickly goes and picks up Steven for her, “Don’t worry, baby girl. Ol’ Carey’s got it right here.” 

They make it back to the sitting room without too much commotion except for Rivera reintroducing herself to Taako— _my name’s Rivera. What’s your name? Taako’s pretty_ —and Carey refusing to give Steven back to Magnus. His parents are still on the love seat; albeit, they are now talking in soft voices and seem to be having quite a serious conversation. Normally, Angus might leave the room and give them privacy and time to finish, however, now he’s stuck in between _that_  and his starving friends. 

He coughs softly, gaining their attention, “Is dinner ready?” 

His mom glanced at the clock, “Kit should be done. They were only steaming everything.” Her eyes then land on Taako and a delightful grin breaks across her face. “It looks like she trusts you, Taako.” 

Taako sneers at her, “Of course she does— _I’m charming_.” 

“Taako’s pretty,” Rivera mimics. 

He grins at that, “Well, look at that, it’s canon now.” 

“I’d be careful, Amelia, Taako’s charming your children,” Carey teases and takes initiative to walk over to the dining room. Magnus eagerly follows her lead, having probably been hungry long before they left the Neverwinter Marketplace. 

Angus then feels a hand ruffle his hair and he looks up to his father. His eyes crinkle as he smiles, “Did you show them the Maevis case?” 

“I did! How did you know?” 

He laughs, “Well, it’s one of my favorites too.”

“I would have shown the Nelly case,” his mother comments, sitting at her seat right next to his father at the table. 

“Of course you would!”

“Mom, you always like the small murder ones.”

“I grew up in the court, Angus, what can I say. It feels like home.”

“Not to interrupt your cute lil family moment but, uh, I still gotta baby in my lap,” Taako interrupts.

“You say that like it’s a problem,” Magnus snorts.

“It’s gonna be a problem, let me tell you,  _boy_.”

“Rivera, go to your seat,” his mother says before things can get more convoluted between all of them. At the sound of their mothers stern voice, which even puts Angus on edge a bit, she slinks off of Taako and disappears under the table until her head of dark curls pops up on the other side next to their father and into her highchair. 

Kit lays out the food for them, steamed fish fresh from the market, a myriad of roasted vegetables, hand rolled bread, and other smaller dishes. Angus’ mouth waters at the food—he really missed Kit’s cooking. Not that the food at the Bureau was that bad, he was just raised on their cooking. He can barely restrain himself as they serve the food. 

Of course, it does not take too long, or actually any time at all for things to rush a bit south. 

At dinner or really any meal at the Bureau that Angus got to share with Taako, he had noticed that Taako always seasons his food before eating. Angus had never really thought anything of the sort. 

His mother, on the other hand did. 

“Is the food not to your taste?” she asks, watching Taako add some salt. 

He freezes for a moment and then shrugs, “Not _enough_  taste. You know how it is.” 

His mother watches him for a little bit longer, a look that he recognizes for something just isn’t adding up for her. He looks back at Taako hoping that he can catch what she saw and he didn’t but nothing looks _that_  odd. Angus doesn’t let it go, but he drops it as does everyone else at the table.

The dinner, despite the beginning and the obvious, glaring clashes of personalities at the table, is quite successful. 

Magnus _charms_ , and while Angus had noticed this the first time they had met that he had that sort of trusting aura to him, he had never really seen it work so well. Sure, around the Bureau, Magnus was popular and got a long with everyone, including those in the Finance depart who rarely show their faces to the light of day. But to see his mother laugh and almost seem  _enamored_ , unnerves Angus quite a lot. It seems unnatural that he’s able to carry such a light conversation about the lost art of skilled trade. 

Of course, Carey also jumps in at odd times, with her own weirdly, bountiful knowledge on things that Angus didn’t think she’d know. Sometimes, even on things that _he_  didn’t know—he understands that he is much younger, but he tries desperately to research enough that he is able to know quite a lot about almost _everything_. He suspects that Carey flourishes some of the details of her stories of her and her brother spending a summer as a children trying to make a boat to sail over the ocean to the next continent. Her brother _is_ a bard, after all. 

Taako contrasts to the other two, quiet and only offering quips when he deems necessary— _you know, Maggy, for all you talk about carpentry, I’ve only seen you carve, like, two ducks at most_ —mostly to in fact, egg Magnus or Carey on. When his mother desperately—well, not _outwardly_  desperately, but Angus recognizes his mother’s techniques of fishing for information—digs at Taako for more about his own life, he deflects. 

“Oh, my childhood was a _bore_. Two parents, one uncle, too many cousins—left as soon as I could for school only to take a year off—like the trend is now—and well, Imma just getting back to the scene because sometimes one year turns to lil bit more.” 

It’s a lie, and Angus really isn’t sure how many lies are stacked upon each other at this point. 

“Without Taako, I probably would have failed my Transmutation final,” Magnus flourishes.

And that’s another thing with Carey and Magnus, they are absolutely _loving_  lying about the University. Story after story they’re able to play off of each other, and Angus is pleasantly surprised. Angus laughs at the stories that are made from thin air and the ones that are clearly adapted from the Bureau. Small bits here and there that Angus recognizes even though he was not present for most of them. 

“Oh, what was it on?” his mother asks after taking a sip of wine.

Magnus freezes. This, however, was the one thing that him and Carey could not lie about.

Taako jumps in for them, “The etherial plane and Blink. Those fools,” he pointed at them, “can’t cast it so I had to step in as a resident expert.” 

“They must be very thankful to have you then,” she smiles, and… it is genuine. 

“They are—or at least they better be,” he shoots them a look and they laugh but the smiles linger on their faces. 

After dinner, they settle in the living room, just chatting and sharing a coffee before they all have to go back to the Bureau. Angus, for once, pulls his mother away from the conversation and over into his own room.

She looks curious as to why he’s doing this but there’s also a sense of severity to her face. She’s worried for him, he knows, and he desperately wishes that he could tell her—although explaining everything probably wouldn’t calm the situation. 

“Mom,” he starts, not sure where to begin. “I know you just met them, Taako and Magnus and Carey, but they mean a lot to me, and after University, I don’t know where were all gonna end up. I’m worried about it because they really don’t have places to go… I just, it’d be nice if maybe they could come home here.” 

He looks back up at her and her face is twisted, “Angus… you’re asking for quite a lot. I don’t know them.”

Angus, of course, understands. “It won’t be for forever or anything! And really, it’d probably just be Magnus and Taako.” And maybe Merle as well, but he artfully omits that. “They just don’t have anywhere to go and they’ve—” he chokes up a bit here, and he tries to stop his tears by rubbing at his eyes from under his glasses. He doesn’t want to cry in front of his mother and feel like he manipulated her into this. “They’ve done so much for me and I really want to be able to help them too.”

“Baby…” she trails off with a sigh, and puts a hand on his shoulder, sliding her hand up to cup his cheek. “They can stay here, as long as they need. As long as you trust them, I will too.” 

“I do trust them, I swear! Thank you so much, Mom,” he leans up just a bit—because he is almost her height now!—and presses a kiss to her cheek. 

“Of course, I’ll expect a little work out of them.”

“They won’t mind!” he promises.

“Oh, they will, but I think they’ll do it for you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, starting this story: one indulgent chapter thats it
> 
> me, now: writing an entire thing based on the mcdonald family because angus deserves not to be hurt by griff or the fandom
> 
> me, in the future: producing a taz ep entirely on angus, mookie, mavis
> 
> also i raise your taako, mango, and merle taking angus in after everything to he takes them in and anyway they stay a good family no matter what

**Author's Note:**

> @ griffin you've hurt angus one too many times i am taking him away and giving him a loving family with his family and adopted dads and moms


End file.
